The Stupidest Holiday Ever
by InaLndofMyth
Summary: Percy Jackson has always hated one very stupid holiday all his life. He never celabrated nor was forced to celabrate it. . . Untill now. Now, his stupid teacher won't rest until she has her answers to why Percy refuses to celabrate Father's Day.


It was 2-4-5 in the afternoon and it was almost time to go home. Percy knew this because when the clock read 3-0-0 his Mom would pick him up from school everyday.

"All right class!" Mrs. Martin called. "It's time for our special project!"

Percy gritted his teach. He thought Mrs. Martin was the most stupidest, silliest person ever and he couldn't stand her. Mrs. Martin would always talk about herself as if she was someone else —"Mrs. Martin will now read a book!" and when she asked you to do things for her —"Could you be a really big help and pick up those crayons you left on the table?— it really meant that you better do it or you'd get a talking-to. And she always had a stupid smile on her face that was obviously fake and she lied all the time. Mrs. Martin would pretend not to know things and asked you for the answers, but wasn't it a teacher's job to know more things than her students? And if you got the answer wrong, she'd get mad at you and then give you the correct answer which proved that she knew it all along but made you answer anyways.

"Everyone grab a sheet of colored construction paper." There was a bunch of shuffling in the room as the children scurried to the arts and crafts section. Percy chose a piece of blue paper, just like the ocean.

"Good! Now," she began once the children took their seats again. "Tomorrow is Father's Day! So for the rest of class, Mrs. Martin wants you to make a card for your Daddy."

Percy stared at the table as the children around him began to chatter enthusiastically and fight for the perfect colored marker. Father's Day. He forgot all about it. Yes, he knew it came every year, but he never had a reason to celebrate it before so what did it matter to him now?

"My Dad's gonna teach me how to play D and D!" A little boy to Percy's left exclaimed.

"What's that?" A girl asked across the table.

"It's a game," the boy replied. "But for grown ups."

" _Ooooh!_ " The children gasped, all except for Percy.

"My Daddy is gonna take me out to Denny's and we're gonna buy pancakes but I can't tell Mommy cause she doesn't let me eat sugar."

"My Dad says sugar make you fat and sad and it's really bad. . ."

Percy blocked out the voices of his classmates as he fiddled with the corner of his paper that he intended to never write on.

"Perseus?" Mrs. Martin said when she noticed her green eyed student wasn't participating in the project. Another thing Percy hated about Mrs. Martin; she always got his name wrong, even after he would politely correct her!

"Perseus?" She called again and came over to where he was sitting even after he didn't respond. Percy scowled. Couldn't she take a hint? He didn't want to talk out his feelings or all that stupid stuff she made him do when he was quiet.

"It's Percy," he grumbled and slouched into the plastic red chair.

"Why aren't you making a card like all the other children?"

Percy glared at the table. _Because I'm not like all the other children!_ he wanted to shout in her face, _I'm different! I don't have a Daddy so I can't make anyone a card for Father's Day!_ Instead, Percy shrugged and sunk lower in his seat. His Mom said he was a 'hot head' and had a 'temper' which was fine, but he had to learn how to control it and not blow up at people just because he was feeling mad.

"I don't want to."

Mrs. Martin frowned. Percy decided she shouldn't frown that often because it made the lines all over her face that she desperately tried to cover up with make-up even more noticeable and she looked rather like an evil villain than a supposedly nice first grade teacher.

"Just because you don't _want_ to doesn't mean you _can't_ , Perseus."

"Why not?" Percy huffed. "This is a free country!" He could see the vein in Mrs. Martin's neck pop out of her skin; a sight Percy knew very well from past teachers, meaning she was getting impatient and annoyed with him and soon he'd be in detention.

"This it may be, but that does not mean you can be rude to a teacher."

"I'm not being rude!"

"Then what do you call your behavior right now?" Mrs. Martin snapped. A few kids stopped drawing and turned their focus on her and Percy.

"Being truthful!" Percy declared hotly. "You always say to tell the truth, and this is what happens when I try!"

"Outside. Now!" Mrs. Martin barked. She stood and briskly walked out into the hallway, leaving Percy no choice but to follow her. She poked her head inside the classroom and called, "Continue making your cards, ok? Mrs. Martin'll be right in."

She snapped her head back and slammed the door close. Percy attempted to sneak down the hall but he made it all of a foot before Mrs. Martin's focus was on him again.

"Perseus! What has gotten into you? Why won't you just make the card and follow the rules?!"

"Your rules are so stupid!" Percy exclaimed. "Your class is stupid! This whole school is stupid and everyone in here is stupid and you're the stupidest of them all! You tell us to do things and we're supposed to listen to you just because you're the teacher!"

Percy hadn't realized he was screaming until he got to the word _teacher_ and by then he was on a role so he figured he'd just let it all out of his system.

"You don't even know what's going on! You ask us all these stupid questions but you get mad if we don't get them right and then you answer them yourself which makes us feel terrible and totally doesn't make sense because why would you ask us in the first place if you knew all along?! You lie to us and you're mean and you get paid to boss little kids around!"

This, apparently, was the last straw. All traces of attempting to remain calm were gone. Mrs. Martin snatched Percy's arm and dragged him into the Principle's office. Once inside, she pushed him into a chair and whipped out a phone.

"Ow," Percy muttered and rubbed his arm. "That's child abuse!"

"Shush!" Mrs. Martin hissed. She punched in a number and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She said promptly. "Is this Sally Jackson?"

Percy groaned and let his head fall to the back of his chair.

"This is Percy'a teacher. Is there something wrong? Well, you see, Percy's been acting up and—you're right outside? Perfect! Why don't you come in? We're in the principle's office. Thank you..."

They sat in silence that seemed to stretch on for hours, days, weeks, maybe, but in reality it was only five minutes. Soon his Mom came rushing into the office with a kind smile lined with worry on her face.

"Hello dear," she said, breaking the sliceable tension in the room. The woman wore a simple pair of jeans and a T-Shirt that read "Julia's Refundable Candles" but Percy thought she couldn't have looked prettier. Sally greeted Percy with a warm kiss on the head and took a seat next to him.

"Mrs. Jackson. Do you know what tomorrow is?" Mrs. Martin said curtly.

"Yes." Sally nodded her head. "I am well aware of what tomorrow is."

"And are you aware of why your son is sitting in the office?"

"Actually, I am not. So would you mind telling me why my son is in the principle's office?"

Percy had to hide a grin as Mrs. Martin glowered. She hated any situation other than when she was bossing people around. "Apparently, you son did not wish to comply and follow the rules!"

"Which were—?"

"Which were to make a simple card for Father's Day!" Mrs. Martin snipped. "Your child refused and spoke back to me in front of the entire class! Children are not permitted to disrespect their teachers at this school."

Sally's brow furrowed. "I see," she said quietly. Realization, sadness, guilt, regret, and irritation flashed across her face in the matter of seconds before settling on the calm, collective mask Percy was so use to seeing whenever his Mother was speaking to his teachers.

"Mrs. Martin, I apologize for my son's behavior. He's usually quite good—"

Mrs. Martin scoffed.

"—but," Sally continued and Percy could see irritation in her eyes, "Father's Day is a very touchy subject, for Percy's father isn't in the picture. So I'd greatly appreciate if you took the liberty of understanding the reasons behind Percy's choices as to not making a card."

Sally stood and took Percy's hand in her own. She said, "Now, if you'd excuse us," and promptly marched out the door.

"That was SO COOL!" Percy exclaimed once they had walked outside. "Did you see her face? She looked like a gold fish, you know, the one at the pet store with the really big eyes popping outta their heads!"

Sally gave him a faint, sad smile. "Sweetie, does it bother you that you don't have a dad?"

Percy shrugged his shoulders and kicked a stone on the sidewalk. "All the other kids talk about how their Daddy took them fishing or how their Daddy taught them how to ride a bike..." Percy blinked at the ground.

"Do you think people would like me more if I had a dad?"

"What do you mean, Percy?" Sally asked with concern in her tone.

"Teachers call me a de- a de- a delinkit and everyone glares at me and no one wants to be my friend for stuff." Percy didn't mention that someone had also written 'bastard' on his locker. He didn't know what one was but he figured that if he was being called one then it must've been something not good.

Sally groaned.

"What's a delinkit?"

"A delinquent," she corrected him, "is someone who isn't a very nice child. But you _are_ nice and they shouldn't call you that. They judge you but they've only known you for two weeks."

Sally closed her eyes and inhaled. "I'm so sorry honey. I guess we're going to cross this school off our list. But I have good news!"

Sally knelt on the ground and looked Percy in the eyes. "I meet this nice guy I think you'll like. He may even be like a Dad to you. Would you like that?" She searched his face.

Percy smiled brightly. "Yeah!"

Sally grinned, her heart immediately lighter then before. She hated it when her little boy was unhappy. She knew who he was and always would be judged by circumstances that weren't his creating or his fault, but that of his father's. Sally knew if Percy was to live into his teenage or young adult years he would have to train and become a hero. A hero's life is a terrible curse to bestow upon a child, Poseidon had told her mournfully. Yet seeing Percy smile filled her with love and strength and Sally selfishly wanted her boy to live the only way he could—as a hero—so she could have her son.

"What's his name?" Percy asked as the pair strolled down the block, a bounce in his step as they made their way to their local candy shoppe.

"Gabriel."


End file.
